US Customs and Border Protection agents standoff against demonstrators as tear gas fills the air outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs building during a protest, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)US President Donald Trump’s administration has directed the officials of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pause most of its immigration raids on farms, hotels, restaurants and meatpacking plants, a senior Trump official said, Reuters reported. The shift by the federal government to pause raids on hospitality and agricultural sectors comes after Trump reportedly conceded this week that his policies are hurting farming and hotel industries.The order to scale back the ICE from conducting immigration raids came reportedly from Trump, Reuters reported quoting a person familiar with the matter. A New York Times report stated that a senior official with ICE, Tatum King, sent an internal email on Thursday to regional department leaders at Homeland Security Investigations, and directed them to pause workplace immigration immigration enforcement actions until it is related to criminal investigations. Law enforcement on horseback disperse demonstrators during a protest, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo)“Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,” King wrote in the email, NYT reported.However, the email adds that ICE can still conduct investigations into serious crimes such as human trafficking. The person earlier quoted said Trump wasn’t aware of the extent of raids, “once it hit him, he pulled it back.”We will NOT be deterred by rioters’ intimidation and threats. ICE immigration enforcement will only ramp up.⁰The violent targeting of law enforcement in Portland, OR by lawless rioters is despicable and its leaders must call for it to end. https://t.co/HOO8PA9LhP— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 15, 2025While Trump took office in January, he vowed to deport millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States. Though Trump framed his efforts around the illegal immigrants residing in the US, thousands of suspected immigration offenders with no criminal background were raided and swept up in the past couple of months.Also Read | Why a California senator was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a govt briefingThe aggressive tactics followed by ICE, especially during immigration raids in Los Angeles, have triggered widespread protests in the US and have faced major pushback from the Democrats. Even the Republican lawmakers have called on the Trump administration to focus on criminal offenders.US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “We will follow the president’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets.”Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:donald trumpUS immigration